Oscars Breeding

Tina89 created the topic: Oscars Breeding

Hi There,

I am new to the forum so I hope I am doing this correctly.

I have two Oscars (Albino and Tiger) and they started showing signs of wanting to lay eggs a couple of weeks ago. I noticed now that there are eggs but whats worrying me is that they are still doing that lip locking thing. The Albino is slightly bigger and is bashing the tiger around quite a bit. And hes starting to look injured. The lip and fins have that shredded look and there are two marks on the body that don't look nice. Is this normal behavior? What could I do to stop it? I don't particularly want them to breed, I have other fish that they are bullying away from "their area" and I am sure the babies will just get eaten the second they hatch.

face mcshooty replied the topic: Oscars Breeding

i'm no expert on oscar breeding but if there starting to do damage to each other you might have to separate them
if you can give us some more information that would be great , , what size tank do you have , , what kind of filtration do you have, , how often do you change the water and how much each time , , and do you have any tank mates with them , , a pitcher or a video of them might help to and welcome to oscar fish lover

Tina89 replied the topic: Oscars Breeding

This morning, all but two eggs have been eaten. Its a Boyu tank, about 600L. The filtration is on top and I use a purigen bag, ceramic rings, activated carbon and wool. I do a water change once a week, about 25% and I gravel vac every week as there are also two big plecs in the tank so the quantity of poop is staggering . So I have the two Oscars, two Plecs, one Bala shark (his friend died and I haven't been able to find one that's the same size or close to it) and one Sun Catfish. I will take a video I only have my phone so hopefully the quality will be OK. Will try upload it sometime today. Thank you

jmunroe replied the topic: Oscars Breeding

You are over stocked by 2 plecos one bala and a sun catfish. With 2 oscars you could add another smallish fish like a convict or firemouth but you are severely overstocked. And with basically no water changes(25% a week is not nearly what your tank needs) your lucky you haven't had problems already. Not trying to be a downer, just giving the cold hard facts. Your setup will fail if you keep going in the same direction. You have fish that will all get to a huge size and your problems will start to show themselves sooner rather then later. Can we some pics or a video please? We're more than happy to help you but it all has to start with you realizing the situation your in and where your headed. A lot easier to fix now then you and your fish suffering later. Your fish are probably feeling the effects of their living situation already. How long has the tank been setup? Do you test your water? How long have you've been only doing 25% water changes? How big are the fish? You need to start doing 25% changes a day for a couple days then up it to 50% for a few days then I would do no less then at least 2, 75% changes a week. You'll probably need more than the 2 a week though. I would also strongly suggest working on rehoming all but the oscars if those are the fish you want. Those plecos, if they are common type are going to get huge and they are basically water destroying machines. Your tank will be cleaner without them if that's why you think you need them. Some of us like plecos and keep them for that reason but they need water volume and room.